Washington Wizards Preview: Super Shooting Guards in Wizards vs Suns

The Washington Wizards continue their late-season road trip tonight with a stop in Phoenix to take on the Suns. Despite losing records, this one could be full of fireworks thanks to a pair of super shooting guards.

Last night the Washington Wizards lost the first game of their current road-trip to the Los Angeles Lakers, their cross-conference counterparts in calamity. Tonight, Bradley Beal will face his own personal basketball doppelganger in Devin Booker, another young shooting guard putting up All-NBA numbers on a losing team.

There might not be much on the line for either of these teams at this point. Washington could technically see their playoff chances officially die with a loss tonight. Although its a wonder they’ve survived this long as it is. Phoenix has been playing for the 2019 NBA Draft since opening night.

A Glimpse into the NBA’s Shooting Guard Future

A pair of losing records doesn’t mean this will necessarily be a boring game, though. Quite the opposite, actually. Beal and Booker represent the future of the NBA’s shooting guard position. Tonight, we’ll get a glimpse into what that future could look like.

James Harden is the present, obviously. However, he’s already 29, and will be 30 before next season. He’s still got plenty more left, but at 25 and 22, respectively, Beal and Booker will certainly be receive the torch once Harden steps down from the top 2-guard pedestal.

Wizards fans are no strangers to what Beal’s been doing this season. In John Wall‘s absence he has taken over this team — and taken the NBA by storm — averaging 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.5 assist and 1.5 steals during his second consecutive all-star season. Booker’s numbers are almost identical: 26.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 0.9 steals. Both stat lines are All-NBA worthy. The biggest knock against each of them: the number of games they’ve lost.

Tonight, Beal and Booker, two of the NBA’s best scorers, will go up against two of the NBA’s worst defenses. Expect to see some points. A lot of points.

The Reunion that Won’t Be

Tonight’s game in Phoenix will be the second time the Wizards and Suns face off this season since their December 17th trade. In it, the Wizards sent fan-favorite Kelly Oubre/Wave Papi plus Austin Rivers to Phoenix in exchange for Trevor Ariza. Unfortunately, tonight’s game will be far from a reunion.

Rivers has since joined the Houston Rockets in their championship campaign. Kelly Oubre is out with a wrist injury. And Trevor Ariza will likely be out after re-aggravating his groin in last night’s loss to the Lakers.

Since joining the Suns, Oubre has excelled with the young group in Phoenix. In his 40 games, he averaged 16.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks. Those are all higher than the per game stats he posted during any of his seasons in Washington.

Can someone explain why they traded him, again?